NBA Rumors: 6 Stars Previously on Trade Block Destined to Wind Up There Again

Among the few things that are given in the NBA are moody superstars, general managers looking to retool with a keen deal and trade rumors that highlight the desires of both sides. The desires of either a star or an executive can lead to a player going on the block. Some players on the block are returning figures to this domain.

A few restless superstars like Carmelo Anthony are surefire bets to be on the trade block, as they have been in the past. Melo and others will find reasons to be unhappy. They will either push to be put on the market or be placed there by the man in charge.

Some players resurface be victims of the business of the game, as general managers decide to put them on the market for whom teams may take flyers. A few of these players, like Luol Deng, might be established members of their organizations, while others have only been with their teams long enough for fans to begin to embrace them.

Follow along for a look at some players who will find themselves back on the trade market.

Kevin Martin

Kevin Martin has been accustomed to being the man, dropping buckets as he pleases. Now, he's situated next to a high-volume point guard in Jeremy Lin who likes to score quite a bit himself.

Martin and Lin both like to shoot a fair amount. Martin attempted 13.4 field goals and 4 free throws per game last year after putting up 15.8 field-goal attempts and 8.4 free-throw attempts per game in 2010-11.

Lin averaged 10.9 field-goal attempts and 4.2 free-throw attempts per game last season, including 13.7 field-goal attempts and 6.8 free-throw attempts per game in 25 games as a starter.

Sharing shot opportunities with Lin will be a trial for Martin, who has averaged 20 points per game five times. Martin has been the leading scorer for his team in the last five seasons he spent entirely with one team (since 2006-07).

According to ESPN, the Rockets were in search of a trade partner to take Martin in June. But Ken Berger of CBSSports.com tweeted not long after that the Rockets were planning to keep him.

Martin's unhappiness with having to share the ball with Lin will be noticeable in the Houston locker room, leading the Rockets to put him and his expiring contract back on the trading block.

The New York Knicks have gone in a somewhat different direction since then. D'Antoni was fired, and Mike Woodson has stayed on board as head coach after leading the Knicks to an 18-6 finish to the regular season and a No. 7 spot in the playoffs. Jeremy Lin is gone, clearing one obstacle from Melo's path to scoring opportunities.

One should be careful to note that Woodson's offense gives Melo the liberty to create for himself.

Still, the current Knicks roster offers Melo opportunities to become upset. His feud with Amar'e Stoudemire could be rekindled. As the above New York Post article mentioned, he and Stoudemire haven't exactly been on good terms.

Also, Melo could find reason to be upset with either Knicks point guard. Starter Raymond Felton has spent most of his career putting up sizable numbers for bad teams. He'll quickly be confronted with the demands of playing with this harrumphing superstar.

Jason Kidd is a source of drama waiting to happen. After years of being a star point man who occasionally made coaches' lives extremely difficult, Kidd is taking a backseat to Felton. After 18 years of running offenses, Kidd could have a difficult time settling into a backup role for the first time in his career.

The two guys on this team who have most frequently acted cantankerously in their careers could combine to create figurative rain clouds in the locker room.

Any one of these scenarios could lead Melo to the trading block. It could serve as much as a chance for Melo to cool down as it could for the Knicks to see who's interested in him.

Tyreke Evans

Tyreke Evans has seen his role shift a couple times in his three years with the Sacramento Kings. He's gone from being drafted as a lead guard to being used more recently as a 2 and a 3.

The Kings offense doesn't depend on his quite as much as it once did. His scoring average fell from 20.1 points per game in 2009-10 to 17.8 in 2010-11 to 16.5 last season. He went from being second on the team with 16.4 shots per game in 2010-11 to third with 14.3 per game in 2011-12.

His usage rate dropped from 25.3 percent in 2010-11 to 23.8 last season.

Evans isn't counted upon as much as an assist man. He went from 5.6 assists per game and a 24.9 percent assist rate in 2010-11 to 4.5 per game and a 22.1 percent assist rate in 2011-12.

Also, Evans isn't that effective on offense. While he rebounded from shooting 40 percent in 2010-11 to shoot 45 percent last season, he did it by taking 44 percent of his shots at the rim, according to basketball-reference.com. Away from the rim, he shot 29.8 percent from the field.

With his narrowing offensive role—at which he's unremarkable—Evans is becoming a somewhat less valuable player as he approaches his contract year.

Jose Calderon

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Jose Calderon is much too valuable an asset for the Toronto Raptors have sitting on the bench while Kyle Lowry makes plays. Calderon is highly productive, averaging more than eight assists per game in four of the last five seasons and producing 112 or more points per 100 possessions in each of the last six seasons.

He's shot 45 percent from the field in five of the last six seasons. Also, he's terrific at the line, hitting 85 percent or better in four of the last five seasons. That includes an NBA-record 98 percent in 2008-09.

The quest to trade Calderon was low key and the Raptors seem to be heading to the season with Calderon still in Toronto playing behind Lowry.

Eventually, Calderon's name will be featured prominently in trade rumors as teams that are needy at point guard seek to make a deal for this highly efficient facilitator. Calderon could be a great rental for a team looking to improve their position in the playoff race.

Particularly, the 30-year-old would be a great addition for a team that has a few reliable scorers, but could use a strong pass-first point guard or has suffered an injury at the position. Calderon is an unselfish point guard who averages 9.9 points per game for his career.

Luol Deng

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Chicago Bulls fans may not want to believe it, but this won't be an easy year for their try-hard team. As much as Tom Thibedeau's squad may try with Derrick Rose out, they won't be able to put themselves in position to make the playoffs.

Some might like to mention how well the Bulls did with the 2010-11 MVP out. While the Bulls did garner a 20-7 record with Rose out, 12 of those wins came against losing teams.

They just had the fortune of having him out at the right points in the schedule.

Chicago can't catch any breaks with Rose out for more than 50 games.

They don't have many remarkable scorers besides Rose. Carlos Boozer can take over the scoring if he's willing to step up, but he can only take up so much. Luol Deng has been an inconsistent scorer over the course of his career. Joakim Noah doesn't create much on his own.

Marco Belinelli can score, but he isn't one to rain down buckets.

By the way, the ghost of a point guard that is Kirk Hinrich is posing as their floor general.

Bulls fans also may not want to believe this, but they'll have to break up the core of the team in order to forge a new path towards a championship. The core of Rose, Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng is an expensive one.

The four of them will combine to make $55.1 million this season and $57.3 million in 2013-14.

Rumors of a deal involving Deng will surface again this season. As the Bulls struggle and Gar Forman and John Paxson search for ways to sustain the team competitively while making it fiscally sustainable, Forman and Paxson will open up to the possibility of trading Deng.

The Bulls could the Deng trade to either gain a second high draft pick or pick up a young backcourt scorer who can help the Bulls retool quickly to get back in the playoffs in a year.

Paul Pierce

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Last season saw the Celtics place every member of the Big Three on the trade block. That included a proposed deal to send Paul Pierce to the Nets, according to Yahoo! Sports.

This season, one of the two remaining members will be back on the block. Pierce, who has been a Celtic for his entire 14-year career, will be available for looks from other teams. The soon-to-be 35-year-old hasn't committed to staying around after his contract expires, as he told the Boston Globe he'll test free agency.

The Celtics have a team option for him for 2013-14. Whether they decide to pick up the option, they'll begin to search for possible suitors so that they don't let the value of the 12-time team leader in scoring slip away.

Boston surely recognizes the need to be fully prepared for when Pierce is gone. The two scorers waiting in the wing aren't sure bets. Jeff Green is coming off an absence due to a heart condition and didn't have great skills to begin with.

Avery Bradley might come back from having surgery on both shoulders and become the guy, but that comeback will be a challenge. Courtney Lee can shoot off the bench, but he's just a role player.

Trading Pierce would bring a boatload of resources for the next era of the Celtics. Draft picks should be involved, as well as at least one young guy who will be a significant contributor.

This would be an emotional loss for Celtics fans, who have hung with Pierce through good times and bad times. He's been a spectacular scorer and a clutch performer. But all good things come to an end one way or another.